[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality":3,"chapter-a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-chapter-12":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Mortal's Journey to Immortality",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2334938,4565,"Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve: Smashing the Bottle","a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-chapter-12",12,"\u003Cp>“Bang!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Li clenched his fists and slammed one fist hard onto the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Use a tool to smash the bottle open.” This was Han Li’s final decision after much deliberation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using brute force to open it was an idea he had long considered—a solution of last resort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This method, though simple and direct, was effective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the thought of this uniquely beautiful bottle being shattered beyond repair filled Han Li with a sharp pang of pain, and he was deeply reluctant. If there were any other way to open it, he would never resort to such a violent method.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could ask other senior brothers for help, perhaps they could open it. But deep down, Han Li had already unconsciously claimed the object as his own treasure and was utterly unwilling to let anyone else know of it. Besides, every person on the mountain might be its rightful owner—if they found out it was in his possession, how would he refuse to return it? This small bottle was so beautiful, so intriguing—he could not bear to give it back now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Li’s curiosity had been completely hooked by the mysterious object inside the bottle. Though he knew it might be empty, he was still willing to take the gamble—that whatever lay inside might be even more fascinating than the bottle itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more he thought about it, the more restless and itchy his mind became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he didn’t unravel the mystery inside the bottle, he wouldn’t be able to sleep a single night in peace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having made up his mind, Han Li slipped quietly into the valley’s storage shed, selected a small iron hammer from among the tools, and brought it back to his room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in his room, he found half a discarded hard blue brick in a corner, then chose a relatively flat hollow spot on the floor, laid the brick flat, and placed the bottle steadily across it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Li raised the small hammer in his right hand; the head paused briefly in midair, then struck decisively against the bottle’s most protruding part—the belly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crack!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afraid that too much force might damage whatever was inside, he struck lightly at first, testing the bottle’s hardness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing no crack at all, Han Li relaxed—he could now use greater force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crack!” Five-tenths force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crack!” Seven-tenths force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crack!” Full force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crack!” Twelve-tenths force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Li increased his strength with each strike, swinging his arm wider and faster each time. By the final blow, half the bottle’s body had been driven into the brick—but the bottle remained completely intact, showing not the slightest sign of cracking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Li was stunned. He still couldn’t believe it—he reached out and gently touched the spot struck by the hammer. Not a single dent remained; the surface was still smooth, glowing a vivid green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was far beyond Han Li’s expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only now did Han Li truly confirm: this small bottle was no ordinary object—it could not possibly have been deliberately discarded. It was almost certainly lost by its owner. Perhaps the owner was now searching the entire mountain for it. If Han Li wanted to keep it, he must hide it well and never let anyone else see it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Han Li’s mind, anything he found on the ground, so long as he hadn’t stolen or snatched it, belonged to him. For an ordinary object, he might have returned it. But this bottle was too mysterious—it likely belonged to the son of some wealthy family or a person of status on the mountain. Han Li held no favorable impression of either group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Li’s family had always been poor; even after working all day, they often went hungry. At Qixuan Sect, he frequently saw the first group spending lavishly, indulging in extravagant meals (Qixuan disciples could pay extra for better food if they disliked the standard rations), treating silver like dirt. Each time, Han Li felt a pang of discomfort. Added to that, these wealthy disciples looked down on and mocked those of them who came from poor backgrounds, often insulting them with words, and even clashed with them several times—children had fought in gang brawls. Han Li had joined one such fight, but he was beaten black and blue by the martial-trained wealthy disciples, forced to stay indoors for days until he recovered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for those with status and position on the mountain, they had left Han Li no better impression. From Wang the Protectors collecting bribes from his uncle, to Wu Yan gaining direct entry into the Seven Perils Hall through Ma’s deputy sect master’s influence—though he’d seen few of the mountain’s great figures, the grand image of such people he’d held as a child had long since crumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For anything lost by either group, Han Li didn’t want to return it—he wanted to hide it as a prank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Han Li immediately took off the small leather pouch hanging around his neck. His mother had sewn it from animal hide before he left home, waterproof and moisture-resistant, meant to hold a talisman carved from wild boar tusk, to protect him from harm and illness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Li untied the pouch, placed the bottle and the talisman inside together, then tightened the drawstring and hung the pouch back around his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing, he glanced around—no one was nearby. He straightened his chest, patted the slightly bulging pouch on his chest, and felt certain no one would notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did he feel a sense of calm settle over him—he no longer feared the bottle might be found and reclaimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Li quietly returned the hammer to its place, then strolled casually through Divine Hand Valley as if nothing had happened, waiting until nightfall before limping back to his room with his injured foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Web\u003C\u002Fp>",965,"2026-06-20T21:12:45.940Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f4c81b28dd4cc0785c11b9faf5d4e76e16ec576509c59c514fc86f2e15bfc8b9","a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-chapter-13","a-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-chapter-11",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-mortal-s-journey-to-immortality-cover.jpg"]